Manuel Codorniu y Ferreras (1 June 1788 – 18 July 1857) was a Spanish military physician, educator and publisher who served in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(1841–1843) and in the

Constituent Cortes The Constituent Cortes () is the description of Spain's parliament, the Cortes, when convened as a constituent assembly. In the 20th century, only one Constituent Cortes was officially opened (Cortes are "opened" in accordance with a mediaeval ...

(1854–1856) of his native country. During his lifetime, he headed several medical and political publications —including ', an influential

masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

newspaper that actively opposed Mexican Emperor

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...

in the 1820s— and started an education program in Mexico based on the works of

Joseph Lancaster Joseph Lancaster (25 November 1778 – 23 October 1838) was an English Quaker and public education innovator. He developed, and propagated on the grounds both of economy and efficacy, a monitorial system of primary education. In the first deca ...

Biography

Manuel Codorniu y Ferreras was born in

Esparreguera Esparreguera (; ) is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona, Spain. It is situated in the comarca of el Baix Llobregat. Esparreguera is famous in Catalonia for staging a grand version of the play ''Life and Passion of Jesus Chr ...

, a small town in the

Province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, on 1 June 1788. Both his father and grandfather were physicians, and his father, Manuel Codorniu Vidal, served as a military physician as well. He joined the Conciliar Seminary of Barcelona in 1797 and took courses in Latin, Rhetoric, Physics, Mathematics and Metaphysics. In 1804, he graduated with a degree in philosophy () from the

University of Cervera The Royal and Pontifical University of Cervera () was a Spanish university located in Cervera, Province of Lleida, Catalonia. The institution was founded in 1717 by Philip V of Spain, who sought to compensate Cervera for its supportive stance dur ...

and took some courses in

Pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and clinical practice at the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

. After enrolling in a group of volunteers at the Royal University of Toledo —where courses could be accredited without examination— he returned to Cervera and graduated with a degree in medicine in 1810. He enlisted at the royal army when the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

broke out between Spanish monarchists and French imperial forces commanded by

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. Carlos Nagués assigned him to the

Sant Ferran Castle The Sant Ferran Castle () is situated on a hill in Figueres, Catalonia at the end of Pujada del Castell. It is a large military fortress built in the eighteenth century under the orders of several military engineers, including Pedro Martín Cermeñ ...

, where he was taken prisoner on 3 May 1811. After the conflict came to and end, he received military awards and a royal pension from King

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

. He joined the Overseas Army () and left for the

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, arriving to the Port of Veracruz with liberal Viceroy

Juan O'Donojú Juan José Rafael Teodomiro de O'Donojú y O'Ryan (, 30 July 1762 – 8 October 1821) was a Spanish-Irish people, Irish military officer, diplomat and Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) from 21 July 1821 to 28 September 1821 during the Mexican War ...

on 31 June 1821. In Mexico, he researched several endemic diseases and became actively involved in

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

s, which at the time served as

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

political clubs but, in contrast with the local Conservative parties, strongly resisted further influence from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in public affairs. In

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, he founded ''El Sol'', an influential newspaper that opposed Emperor

and cofounded the ' to implement innovative education practices popularized by

through the

British and Foreign School Society The British and Foreign School Society (BFSS) was founded in the early 19th century to support free and non-denominational British Schools in England and Wales. These schools competed with the National schools run by the National Society for Promo ...

. Spain's persistent refusal to recognize the Mexican independence sparked a nationalist revolt in 1827, and Mexican President

Guadalupe Victoria Guadalupe Victoria (; 29 September 178621 March 1843), born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and politician who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence and afte ...

ordered the deportation of most Spanish-born citizens. Codorniu's political enemies took advantage of the situation, sent him to a refugees' colony and made sure he abandoned the country. Back in Spain, he was tried by the Purification Tribunal —responsible for exiles and prisoners,— found guilty and discharged from the army in 1829. In 1836, after years practicing medicine privately and volunteering in several epidemic crises, he was readmitted. A few years later, he was elected senator for

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

(1841–1843) and deputy for Castellón to the

(1854–1856). He was grandfather of the notorious forester Ricardo Codorníu y Stárico, who led exemplary reforestations in the 19th century in southeastern Spain. He died in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

on 18 July 1857, at the age of 69.

Books

*' (1820) *' (1825) *' (1826) *' (1838) *' (1838) *' (1845) *' (1849) *' (1850) *' (1854)

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Codorniu, Manuel Members of the Senate of Spain Members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Spanish military doctors Physicians from Catalonia University of Valencia alumni People from Esparreguera 1788 births 1857 deaths 19th-century Spanish military personnel